Thermal Bus Technology for Next Generation Vehicles

A number of trends are coming together in the next generation combat systems and tactical vehicles, which will greatly increase the heat loads that must be managed within the vehicle while also increasing the number of heat sources and dispersing these sources over most of the vehicle volume. Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc. (ACT), supported by Hamilton Sundstrand and Thermacore/Modine, will develop an advanced thermal bus technology to replace the ineffective air-cooling and liquid cooling schemes through this Army SBIR program. ACT has successfully demonstrated the feasibility of the thermal bus technology in cooling multiple high heat flux sources through the Phase I project. The proposed Phase II project will design, fabricate and test full-scale thermal buses in wind tunnels and under shock and vibration conditions simulating representative military and civilian vehicle platforms. Hamilton Sundstrand will support the testing of the military version thermal buses, while Thermacore/Modine will support the testing of the civilian version thermal buses. Both system integrators will also be involved in defining the baseline vehicle platforms and thermal bus design and integration requirements. Successful demonstration in Phase II will establish a firm foundation for the Phase III effort in integrating and field-testing thermal buses in actual vehicles.